YOU COUNT

There's a writing prompt in that magazine I like, Bella Grace.  You can word search Bella Grace in this blog--everything about the magazine is rewarding. The prompt is a bit different:  "What is your favorite spot in your house and why?"  @ dakota, @sweetgirl and @ophelia all answer.  I'm interested that @dakota's favorite spot is her window seat with the lambswool throw on it where she has seen the most falling stars.  Because I have a lambswool throw I brought back from Keswick, a town in the Lake District, UK where some friends live.  I love that throw!  And falling stars . . . who doesn't love those? 

Another prompt, your favorite book and why:  I'm interested that @rainmama's favorite book is This I Know by Susannah Conway because I too have waded through grief and sometimes need to reset. Perhaps that's a book for me to read too.

Readers are invited to respond to the query, "What might the world never understand about you?" This provokes wonderful introspection, doesn't it? Many of us with a bit of thought have a secret self at our core, a characteristic that is ours alone.  Maybe it's, "I'm truly myself when I'm singing."  Or dancing.  When I'm alone or praying.  Or I'm creating, writing or you fill-in-the-blank.  Or how about this:  

I'LL NEVER FIT IN.

THAT'S ONE OF MY BEST QUALITIES.

   Terri Willingham  

Isn't that nice?  I snipped it from Bella Grace to make this collage.  

Another Bella Grace prompt encourages readers to rethink gratitude by contemplating small things.  So many good responses.  Grateful for:

the chickadees who visit my feeder

sharing silence

watching my nephew play

seeing the sun catch the mirror on my mantle

the feel of my local bookstore

the group texts I share with my friends

the first brush of morning sunlight in my bedroom

holding hands with my husband

    . . . 

Yes me too for so many of these, especially holding hands after such a long marriage.  We do that a lot. 

So what is it about Bella Grace?  What is it about inspirational quotes?  Why do they sync with mindfulness and other good things that remind us who we want to be?  I think it's a simple two-word premise:  YOU COUNT.  It's what we need to remember.  What we like counts.  Who we are counts.  We count to our friends, to our families, to our colleagues,  and even to the strangers with whom we share a simple comment while walking the dog.  We count most of all to God.  A calming, peaceful thought that I am grateful for today.  Nina Naomi